The Central Bank of Georgia (NBG) will release a document in the coming months detailing the concept of a national digital currency. It will be used by the participating parties to refine their proposals for the pilot that the monetary authority plans to launch in the first half of 2023.
Georgia Financial Authorities Ready for Digital Currency Testing
The NBG will publish a whitepaper labeled “Digital Lir” that will enable possible collaborators to amend their proposals for the testing of the project’s ultimate phase. Initially, a pilot version of the central bank’s digital currency was scheduled for 2022, but the NBG delayed its testing until this year.
“In the first half of 2023, we will publish the paper and shortly afterwards, together with the winning partner, we will discuss how long it will take to put the scheme into practice,” said Deputy Governor Papuna Lezhava in an interview with Rustavi 2 TV.
Several alternative methods to test the digital version of the Georgian lari have already been approved, though it remains to be seen whether the project will come to fruition. Lezhava said:
“It will be a pilot version in the initial stage, which will allow us to evaluate the technical characteristics of the ‘digital lari.'”
“The mandate of the NBG is to ensure price and financial stability. The development of digital technology has necessitated the creation of a central bank currency as well as a digital version for the lari,” the monetary authority stated in an earlier statement.
The NBG explained that the CBDC is needed to meet the needs of the digital economy as well as improve the effectiveness of economic policies. It also noted that the state-backed currency will be legal tender in the country.
“The digital lari will become a more affordable, secure, and faster means of payment than the current fiat lari in its cash and non-cash forms. The services of intermediaries, commercial banks, or payment systems will not be required to carry out operations with the digital lari,” the NBG said, adding that the new protocol could be used offline.
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